> Having to respond to my mail message, and our phone conversation has
> gotten Dr. Boschert interested enough to subscribe directly to the FML.
> I would like to welcome Dr. Boschert here, and hope that we can have
> the benefit of his perspective and experience from time to time as
> I also hope that he'll benefit from ours.  I think we all win this way.
 
To all:
 
Chris has pretty well summed up our conversation.  I don't have the benefit
of knowing exactly what concerns were brought up previously, but do have a
general understanding of biomedical research and the important role animals
fill in it.  It may never have occured to some that there are literally
thousands of people whose everyday job is to insure the care and well-being of
research animals, and that such a group of people would be large enough to
have an organization that is devoted to promoting such concepts among its
membership.  Electronic networking, being an effective and efficient
communications medium, is just as natural for this group of people as it
would be for pet ferret owners or those who are interested in any other
topic.  I can vouch that there was no malevolent intent in subscribing to
the ferret list, since we are echoing many animal-related conferences,
including reptiles, primates, dogs, cats, birds, etc., for the purpose of
providing a central resource about animals in general.  For those who
are interested, I am also working with the AVMA (Amer. Vet. Med. Assn.)
which will soon be doing much the same thing regarding networking the
veterinary profession.
 
Each of us, whether we're veterinarians, pet owners, or just plain
interested, has something unique to contribute to the group as a whole.
I have found computer networking to be an invaluable resource towards
that end, and would think many of you have also.  I join this list to
learn and hopefully contribute.
 
Regards,
 
Ken Boschert, DVM
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[Posted in FML issue 0763]